Hunt continues for mystery woman after 'local character' left in coma for seven weeks

The aunt of a man left fighting for his life in a seven-week long coma after an attack has said her nephew’s condition has “destroyed” her.

Omen Mugaviri, 38, was found severely injured by police officers in Pellat Grove, Wood Green, on Monday June 30 at around 1am.

He was immediately taken to hospital, where bleeding on his brain was found. Doctors were forced to remove a piece of his skull.

Most of Mr Mugaviri’s family live in Zimbabwe, but his aunt, Priscilla Nyana, was visiting her daughter in the UK and was alerted to his condition by a phonecall from Mr Mugaviri's mother.

Ms Nyana, who worked in the UK as a district nurse for 41 years before returning to Zimbabwe last December, said the attack on her nephew has left her “very, very angry”.

She said: “When I first went to the hospital to see him I thought he was responding. His eyes were moving a little, and I thought he was going to recover.

“But six weeks passed, and later I saw the consultant who did the operation. He said the bleed he had on his brain was so big that he might not wake up. The brain might not recover. He said the brain is not like a liver, which heals. I told the consultant that we would pray.”

Mr Mugaviri’s mother, Dora Muyengwa is currently struggling to obtain the travel documents she needs to visit her son.

Ms Nyana, 61, said she is in constant contact with her sister.

She said: “I don’t know where she is going to get the money from, but at the moment we’re just trying to get the visa in place. We’re having to send all sorts of documents over, saying that we can support her when she gets here.”

Police believe that Mr Mugaviri had been in the company of two people in the High Road N22 area earlier in the evening before he was attacked.

Detective Sergeant Gordon McKay of Wood Green Police believes Mr Mugaviri was punched and fell backwards, cracking the back of his skull on the floor.

A 43-year-old man, who was previously known to the police, was identified using CCTV footage. He has been arrested and bailed until a date in October.

Police are now focusing on finding the second person, a woman believed to be 35 to 45 years-old with dark brown hair and a sling on her left arm.

DS McKay said: “Mr Mugaviri is of previous good character, we’ve never come across him before.

“He was known to frequent parks in the area on sunny days. He sold the Big Issue around Wood Green, and was a bit of a local character. He’s someone who was known in the area.”

He added: “The spot near where he was attacked was a popular drinking area and it was a warm summer evening. It’s unlikely they were the only people there. There’s almost no way there were no witnesses to this attack.

“We would absolutely urge anyone who recognises the description of the woman we’d like to speak with to get in contact with us."

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